Leveling instrument



(No Model.)

- 5. L.KELLY.

LBVELING INSTRUMENT.

Patented Sept. 8, 189.6.

&c., or forplumbing'or rendering perpendicu- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFicE.

EDWIN L. KELLY, OF HARVEY, ILLINOIS.

LEVELING IN STRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 110,567,347, dated September 8, 1896.

Application filed April 18, 1895- To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN L. KELLY, a citi have invented a new and useful Leveling Instrument, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in plumb-levels. The object of the present invention is to simplify and improve the construction of plumb-levels and to provide a device of novel construction to be used by carpenters, ma-

sons, or millwrights, 850., for the purpose of leveling up joists, sills, foundations, walls,

lar posts, studding, corner-walls, or any given surface which is required to be level or plumb.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plumb-level of such form and construction and to mount said leveling device within its receiving block or case in such manner that it will be next to impossible to injure the leveling device and render the same inoperative.

A further object of the invention is to graduate the dial in such manner as to enable the workman to observe just how much a given surface is out of levelor plumb per lineal foot, whereby the timber or other device to be leveled or made plumb may be at once brought to the desired point without the necessity of gradually raising or moving the same until the desired position is attained, as in the case of the ordinary spirit-level.

In order to accomplish the objects above enumerated,this invention consists in the construction and novelcombination of features and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and pointed out in theclaim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mechanical leveling device or plumb-level constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the pivoted weight, the dial, and the hangers or supporting-bars in which said parts are mounted.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section through the leveling instrument, showing the manner in which the pivoted weight is swiveled in the Serial no. 5%,258. (No model.)

hanger-bars. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the pivoted weight.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a rectangular block or case, preferably of wood, although it may be made of metal or any suitable material. edges of this rectangular block or case are made exactly parallel to each other and perfectly straight and smooth, and the ends of the block or case are also parallel to each other and'at right angles to the side edges. The block or case is mortised in one of its side edges to form a rectangular socket or recess 2. Extending approximately half-way through the same and beneath said rectangular socket the block is further out out or mortised to form a substantially semicircular socket or recess 3, the upper end or mouth of this latter socket or recess being of slightly less width or length longitudinally than the, length of the rectangular socket 2, thereby forming a pair of oppositely-disposed shoulders or seats 4, the purpose of which will appear.

WVithin the duplex socket or recess thus formedis located my improved leveling device, which is constructed in the following The side or top and bottom manner: A pair of oppositely-disposed frame tensions 6, adapted to rest upon the shoulders or seats 4, above referred to, at each end, upon which they are secured by means of suitable screws passing through said perforated extensions and engaging the block or case. At either end the frame or hanger bars 5 are connected by transversely-extending pins or rivets 7 of steel or other suitable material, which are riveted within the bars 5, thus forming a stout open frame which is located at or near the center of the block or case and firmly seated in the manner above described. To the open frame thus formed is secured an upwardly-extending curved or semicircular plate 8, which is connected at its ends to and mounted upon the transversely-extending pins or rivets 7 and arranged centrally thereof and of the hangerframe and case. The curved plate 8 may be made of any preferred material, such as brass or steel, and is graduated upon both sides or provided with a series of marks, lines, or indentations, which are conveniently numbered and adapted to aid, with the assistance of a pointer hereinafter described, in indicating the inclination of a given surface.

9 designates a pivoted weight which hangs beneath and is hinged on a horizontal axis between the side bars of the hanger-frame. The pivotal pin 10, upon which the weight is hinged, is preferably connected with said weight fixedly so as to-turn with it, and the opposite ends of said pin are beveled off or provided with conical points 11, which enter corresponding sockets or bearings in the innor adjacent faces of the bars 5. The weight 9 may be made square or round and of various widths and thicknesses and of any convenient metal, such as brass, bell-metal, nickel, iron, steel, 850. The bearings for the ends of the pivotal pin 10 may be formed in the side bars or hangers, or they may be made separately of any desired material, such as brass, iron, steel, tin, glass, or composition. From the upper end of the weight and above its pivot project a pair of arms or pointers 12, the extremities thereof being arranged upon opposite sides of the graduated plate 8 above referred to. The block or case is cut out on either side, as indicated at 13, for the purpose of affording observation-apertures, by means of which the workman is enabled to see said graduated plate and pointers from either side of the case. i

In order to protect the device from injury, a covering-plate 14 is set into the edge of the block or case just above the graduated plate, so as to be flush with the surface of said edge, and is secured in place by means of screws or in other convenient manner. The covering-plate 14c is also cut out at either side, as indicated at 15, to facilitate observation of the graduated plate and pointer.

The above-described device is used for the purpose of leveling joists, sills, &c., or indicating the extent to which they are out of level. For the purpose of adapting the device also as a plumb-level the arrangement hereinabove described is duplicated at or near one end of the block or case 1, as indicated in Fig. 1, in which case it will be understood that the operative parts and the graduated indicator-plate are so arranged that the pointer will occupy a position at the center of the graduated plate when the long side edge of the block or case is held against a perpendicular timber, wall, 850.

The construction combines great simplicity with economy in manufacture, efficiency in operatiomand non-liability of getting out of order. The construction and arrangement combine strength with simplicity to such an extent that it will be next to impossible to injure the device or render the same inoperative, which, as is well known, is one of the chief objections to spirit-levels.

By means of the instrument above described and with the aid. of the graduated indicator-plate it may be calculated with certainty just how far a given surface is out of level or plumb per lineal foot, after which said surface may be at once brought to the desired position, thus obviating the necessity for gradually moving said surface until the plumb-level indicates that said surface is perpendicular or level, as the case may be.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

111 a plumb-level, a block or case mortised out to form an internally-shouldered cavity or recess, in combination with a pair of oppositely-disposed side bars or hangers secured at their opposite ends within said cavity and upon internal horizontal shoulders, transverse pins interposed between and connecting said side bars or hangers, a segmental graduated indicator-plate located centrally between said bars and supported rigidly upon said transverse pins, a weight pivotally mounted between said side bars or hangers, and a pointer-arm carried by said weight and disposed upon one side of the indicatorplate, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN L. KELLY. Witnesses:

ALFRED D. LAMSON, OHAs. H. LOBDELL. 

